In 1620 an English ship called the Mayflower landed on the shores inhabited by the Pokanoket, and it was Squanto who welcomed the newcomers and taught them how to survive. When a good harvest was gathered, the people feasted together--a tradition that continues almost four hundred years later.

In 1838, settlers moving west forced the great Cherokee Nation, and their chief John Ross, to leave their home land and travel 1,200 miles to Oklahoma. An epic story of friendship, war, hope, and betrayal.

-A thoughtful collection that eloquently bears out the theme of unity of all creatures.- --School Library Journal
Native American elders will tell you there is as much to see in the night as in the familiar light of day, and here Abenaki storyteller and American Book Award recipient Joseph Bruchac offers twelve unforgettable stories of the living earth seen from the sky.

-From the Mohawk and Missisquoi peoples of the Northeastern United States to the Pima, Cochiti Pueblo, and Navajo people of the Southwest to the Subarctic Inuit, these pieces reflect an awe...

Throughout World War II, in the conflict fought against Japan, Navajo code talkers were a crucial part of the U.S. effort, sending messages back and forth in an unbreakable code that used their native language. They braved some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and with their code, they saved countless American lives. Yet their story remained classified for more than twenty years.
But now Joseph Bruchac brings their stories to life for young adults through the riveting fictional tale of Ned Begay, a sixteen-year-old Navajo boy who becomes a code talker. His grueling journey is...

A collection of children's tales, handed down by Seneca Indians. They have been gathered together by a Seneca anthropologist, who himself is the grandson of a leading Seneca chief.

An unprecedented gathering of more than 300 Native writers was held in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1992. The Returning the Gift Festival brought more Native writers together in one place than at any other time in history. "Returning the Gift," observes co-organizer Joseph Bruchac, "both demonstrated and validated our literature and our devotion to it, not just to the public, but to ourselves." In compiling this volume, Bruchac invited every writer who attended the festival to submit new, unpublished work; he then selected the best of the more than 200 submissions to create a collection that...

Written over a period of twelve years and published in magazines and anthologies, these beautiful poems of place and Abenaki Indian heritage are addressed to the land, to the poet's two sons James and Jesse, to his wife Carol, and to himself. A few poems invoking the land join others of close observation of the natural world of native New England and the poet's meditations upon it. In its essence, the land and culture Bruchac celebrates is not lost to him, but is a heritage to be passed on through his family. In a second section, Travelling Stories, the well-travelled poet views creatures and...

These poems of close observation and passionate feeling deeply reflect Joseph Bruchac's Abenaki Indian heritage. Like Thoreau, he is a scrupulous student of nature. Uniquely, however, he brings his own cultural concerns to every observation -- not only about preservation of a vulnerable ecology, but about keeping cultural continuity and reaffirming tradition. So many things are observed in this fine collection: an ancient village ruin and a local car wash; kingfishers and red-tail hawks in flight; burial places and a cedar flute. In The Last Elms he laments the attack of Dutch elm disease on...

Here is a collection of myths drawn from the native cultures of North America--from the Inuit in the north to the Zuni, Hopi, and Cherokee in the south.